Furnace door frame



Feb. 19, 1957 o. BRAUN FURNACE DOOR FRAME Filed Sept. 21, 1955 IN VEN TOR,

07TW/N 4. BRAU/V United States Patent FURNACE DOOR FRAME Ottwin L. Braun, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Reliance Steel Products Company, McKeesport, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 21, 1953, Serial No. 381,261

6 Claims. (Cl. 122499) This invention relates to a furnace door frame of the type having a water-cooled nose portion or lintel which projects into the furnace doorway at the upper edge thereof to protect and cool a skew-back channel, and, more particularly, is directed to an improved method and improved instrumentalities for mounting the frame in an operative position within the furnace doorway with its water-cooled nose portion or lintel tightly engaged with the bottom of the skew-back channel.

Inwater-cooled furnace door frames and skew-back channel coolers, the frame must be mounted with its lintel engaged with the underside of the skew-back channel if the lintel is to provide the desired protection for the skew-back channel. The conventional practice of mounting water-cooled frames of this nature involves placing the frame in position in the doorway after which it is wedged upwardly to engage its lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel, and the frame is then securely fastened in position. If the wedging up of the frame is not properly done, there will be too large a gap between the top of the lintel and the underside of the skew-back channel which will defeat the purpose of the lintel. Moreover, the conventional frame wedging operation consumes considerable time, ties up the crane used to place the frame in position, and otherwise holds up placing the furnace in productive condition.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide an improved method of and instrumentalities for mounting furnace door frames and channel coolers which will facilitate the emplacement of the frame in position in a furnace doorway and which will eliminate the costly and time-consuming wedging operation heretofore required by the conventional practice of mounting frames of this character.

A further object of the invention is to provide a watercooled furnace door frame and skew-back channel cooler which is mounted in position in a furnace doorway by a pivotal. movement of the frame with respect to the skewback channel.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a frame of the character referred to in the preceding paragraph with provisions for shifting its pivot center during pivotal movement of the frame to its mounted position. In a door frame of this character, a further object is to provide for shifting the center of pivoting movement of the frame to mounted position in an upward direction so that the lintel will be drawn upwardly against the underside of the skew-back channel as the frame moves into its mounted position. As will be explained in greater detail, the shifting or moving pivot center for the frame by which these objects are effected includes cooperating camming parts which in addition to providing for pivotal movement of the door frame to mounted position cam the frame upwardly to engage the lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel.

The above and related objects of the invention are accomplished by the provision of a pair of laterally spaced saddle blocks on the upper sideof the skew-back channel Patented Feb. 19, 1957 and a pair of laterally spaced supporting lugs on the upper edge of the door frame. In a manner to be described, the saddle blocks on the skew-back channel respectively have horizontally extending supporting rollers and the door frame lugs have cam shaped recesses which hook over the saddle block rollers to support the frame during pivotal movement to mounted position. Also in a manner to be described, the door frame lugs are initially engaged with the saddle block rollers with the door tilted out of vertical position. As the door frame is moved from its tilted position to its vertical mounted position while supported by its supporting lugs on the saddle block rollers, it pivots about the saddle block rollers, and this movement causes the cam shaped recesses in its supporting lugs to ride upwardly over the saddle block rollers and cam the frame upwardly to engage the lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

in the drawings there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing the position of the frame with respect to a skew-back channel, the ends of the skew-back channel being shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line IlL-lll of Fig. 2 but showing in addition a portion of the furnace structure in vertical section in the plane of the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail front elevational view of a portion of the mounting assembly shown in Figs. 2 and 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. 3 of the drawings the numeral 1 designates the roof of a furnace having a doorway 2. The roof 1 at the upper edge of the doorway 2 is supported by a skew-back 3 which is in turn supported by a skew-back channel 4.

The frame and skew-back channel cooler is designated as a whole by the numeral 5 and comprises a top portion 6 fabricated of metal plate and forming an enclosed space 7 through which cooling water may be circulated. Two hollow legs 8 and 9 having internal communication with the body portion 6 and depending therefrom in laterally spaced relation form the sides of the frame. A hollow nose piece or lintel 10 is horizontally offset from the top portion 6 adjacent the bottom thereof for projection into the doorway 2. The interior of the lintel 10 has internal communication with the space 7 and conduits 11 are provided for circulating cooling water through the frame in accordance with conventional practice. When the frame is in mounted position as shown in Fig. 3, the horizontal plate 12 at the upper portion of the lintel 10 has abutting and cooling engagement with the lower horizontal flange 13 of the skew-back channel 4.

As indicated above, the conventional practice of mounting a water cooled furnace door frame and skew-back channel cooler in a furnace doorway 2 requires the use of wedges (not shown) which are inserted between the bottoms of the legs 8 and 9 and the upper surface of the furnace sill casting 15 to raise the frame to a position in which the upper plate 12 of the lintel 10 is engaged with the lower flange 13 of the skew-back channel. In accordance with this practice, the frame is first placed in position in the furnace doorway with the lintel spaced from the underside of the skew-back channel. The frame is then elevated by a crane to engage its lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel, and supporting wedges are then inserted in the space between the bottoms of the legs 8 and 9 and the sill casting 15. This wedging operation ties up the crane used for holding the frame in its upper position and is a time consuming and costly operation. Moreover, if the wedging operation is improperly performed, the lintel will not be engaged with the skew-back channel flange 13 and will be ineffective to provide the proper protection therefor.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the door frame 5 is moved into its mounted position by a pivotal movement with respect to the skew-back channel 4. The frame is supported during this pivotal movement to mounted position by a pair of saddle bioclis 1-5 which are Welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper skewback channel flange 17, and by a pair of laterally spaced mounting lugs 18 which are rigidly secured to the top flange 19 of the frame 5.

As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, each of the saddle blocks 16 comprises a U-shaped bracket having upwardly projecting arms 20. Pins 21 extend transversely of the arms which support pipe rollers 22. Reinforcing brackets 23 project inwardly from the inner sides of the arms 20 and furnish a guide for guiding the movement of the mounting lugs 13 into engagement with the roller 22 in a manner to be described.

Each of the mounting lugs 18 comprises a vertically extending plate 24 rigidly secured to the top flange 19 of the frame which has an outwardly projecting part 25 at its upper end which extends over the sltcw-back channel 4 when the frame is in its mounted position. The undersurface of the part 25 has a circular recess 26 at its inner edge and a cumming surface 27 extending outwardly from the recess 26, the camming surface 27 sloping downwardly to the right from the recess 26 with respect to a horizontal plane as best shown in Fig. 5.

For handling the frame during movement to a mounting position, supporting lugs 30 are secured to the front of the frame in laterally spaced relation adjacent the tops and sides thereof. The lugs 30 are provided with crane hook receiving openings 31 for the reception of hooks (not shown) carried at the end of a crane supporting chain. The lugs 39 and openings 31 are so positioned that when the frame is supported by crane hooks, it will be carried in atilted position of approximately 30 from the vertical and with the mounting lugs 18 in the position as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5.

To mount the frame in position, it is carried by the crane to a position with the projecting portions 25 of the lugs 18 extending over the pipe rollers 22 carried by the saddle'16, and the frame is then lowered to place the lugs 18 in hooking engagement with the rollers 22 and with the rollers received in the circular recesses 26. The dotted lines in Fig. 5 indicate the relative positions of the lugs 18 with respect to the saddles 16 when this initial engagement takes place. In this position, the frame including the legs 8 and 5" extend outwardly an angle of approximately 30 from *the vertical or the mounted position of the frame as shown in 3. As the crane supporting hooks are lowered to release their supporting engagement with the supports 39, the weight of the frame will cause the legs 8 and 9. body portion 6 and supporting lugs ill to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction from the position shown in dotted *lines in Fig. 5 to the position shown in full lines. In some cases itrnay be necessary to move the lower ends of the legs 8 and 9 inwardly toward the door 2 to effect complete movement of the frame into its mounted position. As this rotation takes place, the cam surface 27 rolls upwardly over the pipe rollers 22 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. This movement causes the frame to be elevated to engage the upper flange 12 of the lintel 10 with the lower flange 13 of the skew-back channel 4.

After the frame is in its mounted position, a bolt 33 is inserted through aligned openings in the upper ends of'the saddle "bracket arms 29 and the mounting arms 18to 'secure the frame against rotation in a clockwise direction about the 'pipe rollers 22 outof its mounted position. To further prevent the frame from being jarred out of its mounted position, a steel block 35 is secured by a bolt 36 extending through the flanged portion of the sill casting s5 in front of each leg 8 and 9.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the frame mounting of this invention provides for complete movement of the frame to its final mounted position with its lintel 10 engaged with the underside of the skew-back channel t. To effect this mounting, it is only necessary to hook the mounting lugs 18 over the rollers 22 and release the door for pivotal movement by gravity assisted by applying an inward force to the lower ends of the frame legs during final movement to its mounted position. Attention is particularly directed to the manner in which the center of pivotal movement of the frame is shifted upward y by reason of the eccentric arrangement of the cam surface 27. As the frame pivots, the cam surfaces 27 ride upwardly over the rollers 22 and elevate the frame and its center of pivotal movement. it will also be noted that the lintel it] is positioned sufiicicntly low when the recess 26 is engaged with the rollers 22 to allow its entry into the doorway under the skew-back. However, as pivotal movement of the frame takes place, the action of the cam surface 27 in moving upwardly over the rollers 22 elevates the recess 26 with respect to the rollers 22 and the entire frame moves up a corresponding amount. The amount of this upward movement is determined by the slope of the cam surface 27 which is calculated to provide an upward movement sufficient to engage the lintel plate lit. with the skew-back channel flange 13.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is merely by way of illustration, and that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the contemplation of the invention and under the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. in a furnace having a doorway with a skew-back and a skew'back channel at the upper end thereof, and a hollow water-cooled frame for said doorway including a body portion with hollow door frame legs depending from opposite sides thereof and a bottom lintel laterally offset and projecting outwardly from the bottom thereof, the combination comprising a pair of saddle assemblies secured in spaced lateral relation to the upper edge of the furnace skew-back channel, each of said assemblies having a horizontal roller with its axis extending parallel to said channel, a pair of iounting lugs secured in spaced lateral relation to the upper edge of said frame, each of said lugs having a reanvardly and downwardly opening recess for initial vertical hooking engagement over one of the saddle rollers, engagement of said lugs with said rollers providing pivotal support for said frame in contact with said skew-back channel about which the frame may swing from an angular inclined position relative to the skew-back channel and doorway to a vertical position mounted in the doorway with the frame lintel engaged with the underside of the skew-back channel.

2. The invention described in claim 1 characterized by the provision of a pair of supporting brackets secured to the sides of the frame adjacent the top thereof for sup porting engagement with crane hooks, said brackets being eccentrically located with respect to the center of gravity of the frame so that when the frame is supported on crane hooks it will be in proper angularly inclined position for hooking said lugs over said rollers.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 characterized by each of said lug recesses including a camrning surface which rides upwardly over said rollers in response to pivotal movement of said frame to its mounted position, said carnming surface having a shape such that its movement. relative to said rollers elevates the frame relative to the skew-back channel to engage said lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel.

4. ln a furnace having a doorway with a site-whack and a skew-back channel at the upper edge thereof, and a hollow water-cooled frame for said doorway including a body portion with hollow door frame legs depending from opposite sides thereof and a hollow lintel laterally offset and projecting outwardly from the bottom there of, the combination comprising a pair of saddle assemblies secured in spaced lateral relation to the upper edge of the furnace skew-back channel, each of said assemblies having a horizontal roller with its axis extending parallel to said channel, a pair of mounting lugs secured in spaced lateral relation to the upper edge of said frame, each of said lugs comprising a plate arranged in a vertical plane perpendicular to the axis of said rollers and having a projecting part extending outwardly beyond the inner surface of the frame at the furnace side thereof, said projecting parts respectively having a downwardly facing surface along the lower edge thereof for hooking engagement over one of said rollers, said surfaces having a first portion of circular shape corresponding to the curvature of said rollers at their inner edges adjacent said inner frame surface and a second portion providing a camming surface connected with said first portion and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom, the hooking engagement of said lugs with said rollers providing a pivotal support for said frame which is effected initially with said frame in a tilted position and with said rollers received in said first portion of said recesses and about which the frame may pivot to a vertical mounted position in the furnace doorway, said camming surfaces moving relative to said rollers in response to movement of the frame from said tilted position to cam the frame upwardly and engage the frame lintel with the underside of said skew-back channel as the frame moves into its vertical mounted position.

5. A method of mounting a hollow water-cooled frame and skew-back channel cooler in a furnace doorway with the frame lintel engaged with the underside of the skewback channel which comprises pivoting the frame upon and in contact with the skew-back channel from an inclined position relative to the doorway to avertical position mounted in the doorway, and shifting the center of pivotal movement of the frame upwardly during movement out of its tilted position to move the frame lintel into engagement with the underside of the skew-back channel.

6. A method of mounting a hollow water-cooled frame and skew-back channel cooler in a furnace doorway with the frame lintel engaged with the underside of the skewhack channel which comprises pivoting the frame upon and in contact with the skew-back channel from an inclined position relative to the doorway to a vertical position mounted in the doorway, and elevating the frame relative to its pivotal support during its pivotal movement to engage its lintel with the underside of the skew-back channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,071,950 Paddack Sept. 2, 1913 2,084,017 Chandler June 15, 1937 2,132,507 Baker Oct. 11, 1938 2,664,838 Sorensen Jan. 5, 1954 2,674,211 Pottmeyer Apr. 6, 1954 

